AUT fails to allay student fears over boycott

The Association of University Teachers has told students that it is the lecturers, not the union, behind the marking boycott that is threatening to delay graduations.

The AUT general secretary, Sally Hunt, who yesterday met with student leaders opposed to the lecturers' boycott, said she was merely carrying out the will of her members.

In an effort to ease the growing tensions between the union and students, Ms Hunt met with the president of the University of Bristol student union, Gaston Dolle, the president of the student's guild at Exeter, Alain Desmier, and Andy Wilson, from the University of Southampton, who are from an increasing number of student unions who oppose the ban.

The meeting followed a significant U-turn by the National Union of Students, which this week called on the AUT to follow the lead of the other striking lecturers' union, Natfhe, and begin setting exams to prevent long-term disruption to students.

The NUS has been criticised by several student unions for supporting the marking boycott and backing the campaign by the unions for a 23% pay rise over three years. Despite the U-turn, the NUS said it remained supportive of both unions' decision not to mark assessments.

Speaking after yesterday's meeting with Ms Hunt, Mr Dolle said the students were "dismayed with the unresponsiveness from the AUT to the level of student distress".

Mr Dolle said: "Ms Hunt made it abundantly clear to the delegation that it is the lecturers themselves and not the AUT executive that are asking her to take a hard line approach to the strike. Ms Hunt spoke continually about the mandate from her members."

He added: "Our lecturers have continuously told us that they want to minimise the strike action's effect on our students. We, therefore, urge lecturers to withdraw from the assessment boycott and give Sally Hunt the mandate to resolve the issue with action that does not affect the welfare and education of our members."

Mr Dolle said students were "helpless in this struggle".

Yesterday's meeting was arranged after Mr Dolle wrote Ms Hunt a letter, signed by 30 student leaders, urging her to instruct members to end the marking ban.

Today, Ms Hunt said she had urged the student to lobby their vice-chancellors "to reopen negotiations so that this damaging dispute can be resolved".

She added: "I explained that the employers were still refusing to meet with AUT unconditionally to resolve the dispute. I indicated my willingness to negotiate, but also the determination of my members to secure a proportion of the massive extra funding in the sector for staff pay.

"Whilst I noted the strength of feeling from the three representatives, I also pointed out that at least one of the student unions they claimed to represent (UCL) had now voted to provide full support to AUT, and another had disassociated itself from their letter. I also offered to speak at a meeting of students at their universities and pointed that at the only university (Surrey) that had had a referendum of students on the action, AUT's position had been supported."